The Little Red Dress
by I The Empire
Summary: Adventures of the Twelfth Doctor immediately following his regeneration with Clara Oswald.


"Doctor! How could you have possibly forgotten how to fly the Tardis!?" The Tardis continued to whir and wheeze as it shook from its place on the ground, turning and jerking at rough, difficult angles.

"Well, technically speaking Clara, the Tardis doesn't actually fly," The Doctor explaining whilst trying to find his feet and simultaneously fidgeting with the controls. "It more or less manipulates the barriers of the space/time continuum which can give the illusion of fly-OOF!" The Tardis flung at a tight angle sending The Doctor toppling over the control panel, Clara hanging onto a railing nearby, still with tears in her eyes. "If I can just manage to reset the gravitational stablers we should be…" A roaring came from the center console as The Doctor furiously adjusted knobs and levers. "Oh, unfortunate indeed. Maybe something else.." With more intensity, he pushed a few buttons and tried the same levers. "C'mon Ol' Girl!" The Tardis forcefully ceases her ruckus and settles with a hiss. "See!? Exactly how I said." The Doctor exclaimed with a satisfied smirk across his face.

"Doctor, I don't understand.." Clara approaches the console cautiously with an inquisitive look in a her watery eyes. "Well Clara it's quite simple really all I had to do was-" Clara cuts him off sharply, "No Doctor, I mean, how can we be crashing if we were on solid ground?" The Doctor saunters over to her with unstable determination. He pauses inches from her face and leans down to her height. He brings an accusatory finger up and then turns away and paces back to his scanner and stares at it for what feels like ages. "Doctor can you even read what it says?" Clara asks with an O-Matter-O-Factly eyebrow raise. Glancing back in her direction, The Doctor begins smartly, "It says here that we are currently standing still. I think." A smile turns at the corners of his mouth and he squints more closely at the scanner. "Yes Doctor, we weren't moving when you...you know." she waves her arms at The Doctor holding back tears as best she can. "If we were standing still then how could we have crashed?" He studied her inquisitively as if he were seeing her for the first time (and by definition he may very well be). He started towards her slowly keeping his coarse eyes fixed on her's still tearful. As he again came close, this time Clara recoiled slightly, still unsure of the man before her she once knew as "Her Doctor".

"Are you frightened of me Clara?" Almost hurt, The Doctor stepped back from her allowing Clara the space to adjust to the sight of the much older man now before her with a stern stature and enigmatic character. "It's still me in here. All twelve of me that is. Or rather thirteen I suppose if we're counting the man I was when the war ended. It may be time to start. I remember it all. You, The Time War, The Cybermen, K-9, The Angels, Canary Wharf...Bad Wolf…" He trailed off as he uttered the last phrases to himself looking away coldly for a moment and for a split second Clara thought she saw tears in his eyes. But very suddenly he looked back at her and a smile spread across his face. "You're my Impossible Girl. And I'll still have you if you'll have me." With those last words Clara let out a sob and stumbled over to The Doctor embracing him in her arms. She pulled back slightly still keeping her hands on him and studied the new man before her, every line, every blemish, every freckle. Taking in all she could she looked him in the eyes and very softly asked, "My Doctor?" He freed himself and took her hands in his and grinned as widely as he could. "I'm right here Clara." He planted a kiss on her forehead and turned quickly on his heels walking towards the front door. "Let's see what happened!" Clara trotted behind him as he opened the doors.

The Doctor did not move or speak. He distinctively stood in the doorway, not budging an inch. Clara wondered if he had even taken a breath. Over his shoulder Clara saw the same war wreckage from earlier across a town called Christmas only now the dawn was breaking over the horizon. She could just barely make out what appeared to be statues but of that she was unsure. "Clara stay here." And before she could protest The Doctor locked the doors to the Tardis with his sonic screwdriver to ensure she wouldn't follow. "Doctor!" pounding on the door she yelled his name a few more times before crossing her arms in a huff.

The Doctor thumbing the lapels of his jacket, never moved his eyes from the spot in front of him. He pauses briefly for a moment. With his peripheral, he analyzed the scene around him. "I can assume you know who I am. I recently went through a few changes but it may be important for you to remember that I am in fact still The Doctor. And this town is still under my protection." The angels never moved, stone eyes and stone hands still while they stood in quantum lock. "It may be wise for you to not try and tip my Tardis again, hoping that I come tumbling out screwdriver in hand. Let's hope it doesn't happen again." With eyes as still as morning grass he slowly back-stepped till he found the Tardis' door handle and carefully unlocked the door and went back inside.

Clara walked around the console from her place by the scanner. She stared at him angrily before relenting a smile and shook her head. "Where are we going!?" She asked with a slight feel of sass in her tone. "I thought a trip back to your apartment. Might do you well for some rest I think." With that The Doctor dialed in the coordinates and the Tardis whired off. They found themselves back in London, just outside of Clara's building. Together they climbed the steps up to Clara's unit. Clara unlocked the door and headed right to her room where she settled in to her bed and slept. The Doctor, for a moment looked around the room taking in the details. It had been a long time since he'd last been here. He saw the photograph her parents on the sill, a vase of roses on the table, the Christmas tree still up and full of life as the day they left for Trenzalore. He quietly let himself out of her room and headed back towards the Tardis. Stepping inside something caught the corner of his eye. Kneeling down, The Doctor gathered up his bow tie from the floor. Wrapping it around his hand he pressed it to his lips. He set off at a slow pace down the downstairs corridor where he passed the swimming pool, library, and Clara's room. Doubling-back he stepped into Clara's room. He looked on the bed and saw her short red dress. He shook his head and walked back towards the wardrobe just down the hall not fifty paces away. Inside he pulled a small box from the nearby dresser and carefully laid the bow tie inside and closed it. Looking around the room he saw the what seemed like hundreds of outfits he had collected over the last fifteen-hundred years of his life. Carefully he selected a white collared shirt, a black vest, and a red lined black jacket that hung below his waist.

The Doctor eyed himself in the mirror before asking quietly, "What do you think Ol' Girl? Too rebel Time-Lord? Or just right?" The Tardis responded with what could only be described as whistle. The Doctor threw back his head and laughed, "Yup, I still got it." Winking to himself in the mirror he made his way out of the Tardis and back up to Clara's unit.

The Angels watched from behind the Tardis as the Doctor made his ascent up the stone building. There were only four of them left after The Battle For Christmas. Together they managed to lift the Tardis despite their wavering strength and carry it off to an abandoned factory complex just south of Brixton. The Angels never looking in each other's direction separated into two teams of two. The smallest of the angels to stay back and guard the Tardis. The larger two to go off and get The Doctor. They closed in on the large stone building where they had discovered the Tardis, perching themselves on opposite sides of the grassy knoll and waiting patiently for The Doctor.

Clara stirred quietly in her bed before rising and changing into her plaid dress. Walking back towards the sitting room where she found The Doctor, bespectacled, reading what appeared to be _A History Of Rome: The Julio-Claudian Dynasty. _"Well that is just absurd," The Doctor exclaimed as he tossed the book away, "Nero didn't know how to fiddle, he was more of a harp man." Shaking his head he noticed Clara and smiled brightly. "Having a row with history again Doctor?" Her eyebrows bouncing on her forehead while she made herself and The Doctor some tea. "I would call it more of an obscurity of the details rather than a row." Removing his glasses, The Doctor seated himself at the table and waited patiently for the kettle to steam and whistle. Clara removing the singing copper cookware from the stove poured their mugs and made her way to the table. "I could show you if you like," The Doctor said as he began blowing the steam from his cup of Earl Grey. "In his youth Nero, was quite a charming man really." Reaching for an apple from the nearby fruit bowl, he crunched down through its ruby red skin eyes lighting up. "This is Fantastic! I love apples." He continued to gnaw away at the rind. "Doctor I thought you hated apples?" Clara stared puzzling at the childlike man across from her, apple juice dribbling down his chin and into his lap. "Clara that's ridiculous why would I hate apples? Have you had one?" His arm extending what was now mostly a seedy core. "Yes Doctor I've eaten an apple before. You know 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.'" Amused with herself, Clara sipped on her tea cheerfully. "Well that is a stupid saying because I am The Doctor and I like apples." Placing the core on the table, The Doctor wiped the juice from his chin and began turning his mug in his hands. "So what do you think? Ancient Rome?" And with that the two of them went running out of the building and down to the grass below. Before long The Doctor realized that something was amiss.

"Doctor where's The Tardis?" Both Clara and The Doctor stared and the square imprint where the blue box had been sitting not a half-hour earlier. "Clara if you could please look to your immediate left and not move your eyes from the statue that would be spectacular. Also Don't Blink please." Sternly, The Doctor stared unwavering in the opposite direction. Both their eyes fixed on the stone angels who stared back unmoving and unchanging with sickly smiles painted across their stoic faces. "What's interesting about this situation is that we have found ourselves in the worst place to be having to face a pair of Weeping Angels. One? No problem, but two! A bit different." explaining nervously, The Doctor began blindly fishing his pockets for his sonic screwdriver. "Doctor do you have a plan!?" Clara asked frighted, gripping his coat jacket tightly, her eyes red and burning from fixing them on the angel across the knoll. "Well I wouldn't call it a plan since I haven't actually thought about escaping really…" The Doctor rubbing each eye individually before returning to his scan of the area with his screwdriver. "Great! No plan and two Weeping Angels have us back to back. I feel very safe." Clara blinking each eye individually but failing as her angel shot closer to her, fangs bared and claws open. She let out a short shriek before grabbing The Doctor's hand. "Do you really want your last words to be sarcastic Clara? Be sensible we could die! Though it is unlikely at this point."

"So what do we do!?" Panicking now Clara was feeling tears in her eyes. She didn't want to die here now. She had just met her new Doctor, she wasn't ready to let him go. "Well on Trenzalore I had been working on a new little diddy that I am going to try now, and if it works we'll be right back on the Tardis!" He felt very proud having thought of a failsafe for being trapped by angels, "All I have to do is lock into the coordinates of where the Tardis is and sync up the frequency with the sonic." The familiar buzz of his sonic screwdriver began to offer comfort to Clara and before they knew it they were back in the Tardis control room. "Haha! I was hoping that would work! The alternative would have been less than comfortable." The Doctor began patting the Tardis main console and wiping a few smudges off with his sleeve. "Let me guess, the alternative would be eaten by angels?" smugly, Clara raised an accusative eyebrow at The Doctor while he looked somewhat offended, "They don't eat people Clara. Gross. No they zap them back in time and feed on potential energy. And besides the alternative would not have been that anyway! It would've been atomization; spread out into the air of the surrounding area. Not that we would've been able to feel it but personally I like where my atoms currently reside."

"Agreed." said Clara leaning on the nearby railing, The Doctor snapped and pointed a finger at her reassuringly as he attempted to dial in coordinates to the main console. "Hmm." looking troubled, The Doctor stepped over the front door and paused before pacing back a few steps. The Tardis responded with a deep groaning sound. "That's what I was thinking too." he concurred without missing a beat. Clara looked at him with eyes wide, curious, "Doctor?" He brought his eyes up to hers, "Clara we are going to have to fight those angels somehow. And I don't like that but here we are. Now intuition is telling me that those aren't the only two angels we'll be facing so Clara let me ask you; are you ready?" He smiled arrogantly at her as he held out his hand. Clara clasped it tightly with her own. "Geronimo! Oh no that's not right," The Doctor grimaced as he felt the words linger in the air like smoke. "I need to find something else to say. That doesn't feel right anymore." And with that they stepped out into the dark, wet hallway just outside the Tardis where all four angels were waiting for them. The largest of the four stood just off center of the middle, had a large scar torn around the side of its face. Its fangs bared whilst the others remained placid of face.

"Friends I think you may find that this is the part where you chase us." exclaimed The Doctor as he and Clara quickly back stepped out the nearest doorway into the next room closing the door after themselves. "So Doctor, do you now have a plan?" Clara stared at The Doctor impatiently as he analyzed the room. "Well yes but I was hoping to have more mirrors on hand but here we are." Clara looked at her surroundings, she saw across from her a window. "We're gonna have to go out the window." She looked down at the balcony ten feet below. "Yes it would seem so. Would you like to go first?" he bowed courteously as Clara made her way onto the sill. She jumped first, landing hard on the wrought iron grate below her. The Doctor followed more gracefully than expected for a man of his age. Brushing the dust from his coat he looked at Clara and grabbed her hand as they started running. They got to the next entrance back into the building finding themselves at a cross-way between two hallways where the smallest of the angels was waiting with its claws outstretched towards their throats. Both staring at the smaller angel they found that they were surrounded on all sides by angels. "Clara, when I say, Close your eyes and drop to the floor." The Doctor laced his fingers with Clara's and squeezed her hand. Carefully shifting between the angel in front of him and the one to his right while Clara dealt with the one behind and to the left. with each shift of their gaze the angels got closer. Arms stretching, contorting with claws and fangs reaching for them. "Now!" shouted and they dropped to the ground. The angels did not move any closer. "Carefully now, go under their gaze." The Doctor led Clara around the Scarred angel and back towards where the Tardis lay waiting for them. "Will that hold them Doctor?" Clara asked curiously as they ran back to the Tardis. "If they are not disturbed then yes they will be perpetually quantum locked. And hopefully they will remain undisturbed seeing as this place is very much abandoned." They passed back into the Tardis smiling, hand in hand, before settling at the controls again. "So let's see if I can actually fly this thing or not." said The Doctor with a cocky smirk on his lips. Clara laughed at him thinking how she may be able to find her Doctor in him somewhere. "Now tell me Clara Oswald? Are you ready?" and with that he set the Tardis whizzing off into space.


End file.
